Does any one remember the Ayatollah in Iran, and what happened to him? The following is one interpretation of Nostradamus writings.

3.3. Antichrist's seizure of Asia
I p 189 (cIV-50)
The Antichrist will take over Asia by appointing sub commanders to rule vast
tracts of land for him. But their ties to him will be masked and the world will not

The Antichrist will foment rebellions within the countries he's aiming to take over.
He will allow the various political splinter groups to believe he supports their
cause, when he is actually playing them against each other. The countries will
turn in on themselves, weakening them for his outside conquest.
I p 219 (cII-23)
The Antichrist will take over Iran by using a human decoy to trick the Ayatollah in
power. This will involve the "yes men" and sycophants of the Ayatollah's court.
The Antichrist will first drive away internal supporters of the Ayatollah by starting
a civil war. Then he will put forth a man as a leader, a man for Iranians loyal to
the Ayatollah to concentrate their hate on. The man will be assassinated while
Iran is being taken over, and his opponents will think they have foiled the
overthrow of power by assassinating him. But they will find out later he was
merely a decoy and that they played into the plans of the Antichrist.
I p 211 (cII-81)
The Antichrist will initially obtain power in his own sphere, Asia, and the Middle
East. As he grows out of this arena, i.e. into Europe, the next step will be into the
Mediterranean, approaching from the south, his area of strength. Because of his
Middle Eastern heritage he will have already united North Africans, who are
sympathetic to his cultural background, with his Asian and Middle Eastern
conglomerate.